Test strips on which a fluid specimen is dropped, or which are dipped into a fluid specimen, are known in the art. The test strip has a sample pad, on which the sample or specimen is received, and a reagent pad with a reaction zone carrying a reagent. The sample is received on the sample pad and migrates from there to the reaction pad. On the reaction pad, the sample and a reagent on the reaction pad undergo a reaction. Such a reaction can be, e.g., a calorimetric reaction or a reaction that changes the light reflection properties of the reaction pad. The reagent pad may be coextensive with the sample pad, or spaced from the sample pad so that the specimen migrates from the sample pad to the reagent pad. The sample may also be placed directly onto the reaction pad. Once the fluid specimen reacts with the reagent in the strip, the reagent pad (in a reaction zone of the reagent pad) changes its light reflection and/or absorption pattern, which may be perceived as a change of color and/or brightness. The test strip is then carried to a comparison scale where the reagent pad is compared with the scale. Typically, the comparison scale is a color scale, and the color of the reagent pad is aligned with the substantially identical color on the comparison scale to determine the quantity of the component in question in the fluid sample, or the presence of a particular component in the fluid sample, or another characteristic or property of the fluid sample. Such components and characteristics include for example, the pH of a liquid, the concentration of certain ions, the presence of certain microorganisms in the sample, temperature, the concentration of certain biomolecules (such as sugars, DNA, RNA, lipids, proteins, peptides and amino acids) and/or the concentration of small organic or inorganic molecules or other analytes.
Because the test strip has to be carried to a color scale, the doctor, nurse, technician, or tester must handle the strip not only to apply the fluid specimen thereto, but also to manipulate the test strip with respect to the color scale. Such additional handling is generally undesirable for efficiency as well as hygienic reasons, yet has been heretofore essentially unavoidable. Moreover, the test strip is generally a rather thin, flimsy piece of paper or the like and can easily be blown over or otherwise inadvertently moved to an undesired location by, for example, a breeze of air.
Therefore, it would be desirable to reduce the amount of handling required to utilize a test strip for measuring the presence or amount of a component in question. Moreover, it would be desirable to modify the test strip so that it is not easily displaced.